Tray and pad interleaving apparatus

ABSTRACT

In accordance with this invention, single absorbent pads are interleaved between adjacent food packaging trays of the type used in packing and displaying chickens and the like. The trays are in nested condition and are moved along an upwardly inclined first guide chute and in a substantially vertical position to an interleaving station. The trays leaving the interleaving station are in nested condition and are moved along a downwardly inclined second guide chute to provide a substantially V-shaped opening at the interleaving station and between the leading tray of the approaching group and the trailing tray of the leaving group of trays so that the upper ends of these trays are separated and moved out of their nesting relationship. An absorbent pad is fed in a substantially vertical position and into the V-shaped opening prior to the movement of each tray through the interleaving station so that an absorbent pad is interleaved between the successive trays leaving the interleaving station.

United States Patent [191 Currie Sept. 3, 1974 TRAY AND PAD INTERLEAVINGAPPARATUS [75] Inventor: Grover C. Currie, Lenoir, NC.

[73] Assignee: Cellu Products Company, Patterson,

221 Filed: July 30,1973

[21] Appl. No.: 384,114

[52] US. Cl 53/35, 53/157, 53/250, 93/93 D, 93/36.01, 214/6 M, 214/7,270/58 [51] Int. Cl. B651) 35/50, B65g 57/28, B65g 59/00 [58] Field ofSearch 53/35, 156, 157, 251, 252, 1

53/250; 93/93 D, 36.01, 36.6, 55.1 M 270/58, 55; 214/7, 6 M; 271/4;198/35 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,725,992 12/1955Wells 214/7 3,019,578 2/1962 Cohen 53/157 X 3,450,400 6/1969 Guggisberg270 55 3,497,086 2/1970 Adams et al 214/7 Primary ExaminerTravis S.McGehee Assistant Examiner-Horace M. Culver Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Parrott, Bell, Seltzer, Park & Gibson [57] ABSTRACT ln accordancewith this invention, single absorbent pads are interleaved betweenadjacent food packaging trays of the type used in packing and displayingchickens and the like. The trays are in nested condition and I are movedalong an upwardly inclined first guide chute and in a substantiallyvertical position to an interleaving station. The trays leaving theinterleaving station are in nested condition and are moved along adownwardly inclined second guide chute to provide a substantiallyV-shaped opening at the interleaving station and between the leadingtray of the approaching .group and the trailing tray of the leavinggroup of 15 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures 1 TRAY AND PAD INTERLEAVINGAPPARATUS The present invention relates generally to an apparatus forinterleaving a single absorbent pad between adjacent trays and moreparticularly to such an apparatus for interleaving single absorbent padsbetween adjacent trays of the type which are normally used in thepackaging and displaying of food products, such as chickens and thelike.

Certain food products, such as chickens, are packaged for display andsale in molded trays with an absorbent pad in the bottom to take upliquid which drains from the product. It has been the practice for theperson forming the package to select a tray, place an absorbent pad inthe lower portion thereof, than place the food product on the pad in thetray and enclose the entire package with a transparent, heat-sealablefilm. The placement of the absorbent pad in the tray requires an extraoperating step, thereby increasing the time required to package theproducts.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide anapparatus for automatically interleaving a single absorbent pad betweenadjacent trays so that a stack of trays is provided with an absorbentpad already placed in the position in each tray.

This object is accomplished in. accordance with the present invention byproviding an apparatus for feeding the trays in a substantially verticalposition and past an interleaving station. The group of traysapproaching the interleaving station are in nested condition andinclined upwardly while the group of trays leaving theinterleavingstation are in nested condition and inclined downwardly to provide asubstantially V-shaped opening at the interleaving station and betweenthe two groups of trays so that the upper ends of the trays at each sideof the V-shaped opening are separated and moved out of their nestingrelationship. Means is provided for successively moving the leading trayof the approaching group across the V-shaped opening at the interleavingstation to become the trailing tray of the leaving group. Absorbent padfeeding means is provided to operate in timed relationship to themovement of the trays across the V-shaped opening and to feed a pad intothe V-shaped opening prior to the successive movement of each leadingtray of the approaching group to become the trailing tray of the leavinggroup so that an absorbent pad is interleaved between the successivetrays leaving the interleaving station.

The apparatus preferably includes a single drive motor and aninterleaving station at each side of the apparatus. Both interleavingstations are normally operated by the single motor and either of thestations may be disengaged without stopping the operation of the otherinterleaving station.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as thedescription proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of theinterleaving apparatus and illustrating substantially identicalinterleaving stations at opposite sides of the apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus, looking at theright-hand side of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of the centralportion of FIG. 2 and illustrating the manner in which the groups ofapproaching and leaving trays. provide a substantially V-shaped openingat the interleaving station;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view being takensubstantially along the line 4-4 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line5-5 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of the pad feedingmechanism;

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line77 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional plan view of the drive mechanism, being takensubstantially along the line 8-8 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view looking downwardly on the V-shapedopening formed between the group of trays approaching the interleavingstation and the group of trays leaving the interleaving station, beingtaken substantially along the line 9-9 in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 10 is an isometric view of one of the packaging trays with anabsorbent pad being positioned therein.

The apparatus illustrated includes a pair of identical interleavingstations at opposite sides and these interleaving stations areselectively operable from a single drive motor 10 (FIGS. 2 and 8) whichis fixed on a rectangular base plate 11 supported on a rectangular frame12. The motor 10 is drivingly connected to the input side of a gearreduction unit 13 by means of a drive chain 14. Drive chains 15, 15' aredriven from opposite output sides of the gear reduction unit 13 and inturn are drivingly connected to electric clutches l6, 16' which aresupported on respective drive shafts 17, 17', supported for rotation onthe base plate 11.

Since the interleaving stations at each side of the apparatus areidentical, only the interleaving station on the right-hand side of FIG.1 will be described in detail and the corresponding parts of theinterleaving station on the left-hand side of FIG. ,1 will bear likereference characters with the prime notation added. A vertical supportplate 20 is fixed at its lower end to the frame 12 and its upper end isconnected to the upper end of the corresponding support plate 20 bymeans of cross plates 21.

Means is-provided for supporting and moving the nested trays, indicatedat T, along in a substantially vertical position and past theinterleaving station and includes a first tray guiding chute, broadlyindicated at 22. The chute 22 supports and directs an approaching groupof substantially vertically disposed and nested trays T along anupwardly inclined path of travel to an interleaving station, to bepresently described. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the trays T haveupstanding sides and the bottom portion of one tray fits within and isnested in the upstanding sides of the next tray (FIGS. 2 and 3) whenthey are moved along in a substantially vertical position.

The first tray guiding chute 22 includes a pair of spaced apart lowersupport rails 23 (FIG. 5), on which the lower edges of the trays T aresupported, and a pair of opposed side rails 24 which maintain the traysmoving in a straight line path toward the interleaving station. The trayguiding chute 22 is supported on shafts 25, 26 (FIG. 2) which arerespectively supported on the machine frame 12 and the support plate 20.

A second tray guiding chute, broadly indicated at 30, guides theinterleaved pads and trays away from the interleaving station and isinclined downwardly therefrom. The chute 30 includes a pair of spacedapart downwardly extending lower support rails 31 (FIG. 1) for engagingand supporting the lower edges of the trays leaving the interleavingstation and a pair of spaced apart side rails 32 for maintaining theinterleaved pads and trays in a straight line path as they leave theinterleaving station. The second chute is supported on support shafts33, 34 which are respectively supported by a support bracket 35 fixed onthe frame 12 and the support plate 20 (FIG. 2).

Means is provided for moving the group of nested trays T upwardly alongthe chute 22 and comprises a pressure plate 36 (FIG. 3) which issupported on the medial portion of a shaft 37. One end of the shaft 37is provided with a roller 38 which is adapted to move along on top ofthe side rail 24 and the other end of the shaft 37 is fixed in a slidebracket 40 which is supported for sliding movement along a guide shaft41. A cable 42 is connected to the slide bracket 40 and extendspartially around the lower side of a guide pulley 43 (FIG. 4) which issupported on the support plate 20, and over a guide pulley 44 which issupported for rotation on a bracket 45 fixed on the cross plate 21. Theopposite end of the cable 42 is attached to a weight 46 which hangsdownwardly inside of a guide tube 47, fixed on the front of the frame12. Thus, the weight 46 supplies pressure on the plate 36 to urge thevertically nested groups of trays T upwardly along the inclined firsttray guiding chute 22 toward the upper end thereof and toward theinterleaving station.

Means is provided for successively moving the leading tray of theapproaching group, supported in the first guide chute 22, to become thetrailing tray of the leaving group, supported in the second tray guidechute 30, and comprises a notched rocking shaft 48 (FIG. 3) positionedbetweenthe first and second tray guide chutes 22, 30. As illustrated inFIG. 3, the rocking shaft 48 engages the lower edge of the leading trayof the approaching group of trays and cooperates in moving the same fromnested condition with the approachinggroup to nested condition with theleaving group, in a manner to be presently described. Rotatable releasemeans, in the form of a rotating shaft 50 having a notched sleevethereon, is positioned at the upper edge of the leading tray of theapproaching group and is operable to maintain the leading tray in aninclined and nest position. The shaft 50 is rotated in timedrelationship to rocking movement of the rocking shaft 48 to release theupper edge of the leading tray as the lower edge is moved by the rockingshaft 48.

The means for successively moving the leading tray of the approachinggroup to become the trailing tray of the leaving group also includesresiliently supported fingers 52 (FIG. 9) which are positionedintermediate the upper and lower ends of the trays and at opposite sidesthereof. The fingers 52 are supported for limited pivoting movement andare normally urged to the position shown in FIG. 9 by torsion springs52a. The fingers 52 are supported on the upper ends of correspondingoperating arms 53. The lower ends of the arms 53 are fixed on a rockingdrive shaft 54 which is supported on the support plate 20. The inner endof the rocking drive shaft 54 (FIG. 4) has a slotted lever arm 55 fixedthereto. A drive pin 56 is fixed in off-center relationship on a wheel57 which is fixed on one end of a stub shaft 58, supported for rotationin the support plate 20. A gear 59 is supported on the shaft 58 andmeshes with a gear 60 (FIG. 3) which is fixed ona stub shaft 62, ro-

tatably supported in the support plate 20. Rotation is imparted to thegears 60, 59 and respective shafts 62, 58 by means of a drive chain 63which is driven from a sprocket on the lower drive shaft 17 (FIG. 3).

A crank wheel 64 (FIG. 4) is fixed on the inner end of the shaft 62 andhas the lower end of a connecting rod 65 connected thereto in off-centerrelationship. The upper end of the rod 65 is connected to the outer endof a crank arm 66 which is fixed on the inner end of the notched rockshaft 48. Thus, the drive from the main drive shaft 17 is transmittedthrough the chain 63 and gears 60, 59 (FIG. 3) to drive wheels 57, 64(FIG. 4) and to impart reciprocation to the notched rock shaft 48 andthe fingers 52 in timed relationship to each other.

Another drive chain 70 is rotated by the main drive shaft 17 (FIG. 8)and extends upwardly therefrom and surrounds an upper sprocket 71 (FIGS.4 and 5) which is fixed on one end of a drive shaft 72. The drive shaft72 is rotatably supported in a support bracket 73 which forms the meansfor supporting the stack of horizontally positioned absorbent pads, in amanner to be presently described. A drive sprocket 75 (FIGS. 4 and 5) isrotated by the drive chain 70 and is fixed on the rotatable releaseshaft 50. The shaft 50 is supported for rotation in a bracket 76 fixedon the plate member 20.

Stacked absorbent pads P are supported at their rear lower portion on asupport plate 80 (FIG. 3) and are maintained in vertical alignment by afeed chute including a pair of front rails 81 and a pair of side rails82 extending upwardly in front and on one side of the stack of pads P.An adjustable side rod 83 extends upwardly along the opposite side ofthe pads P and is supported on the front rails 81. Spaced apart feedwheels 84, 85 (FIG. 7) are fixed on the drive shaft 72 and on oppositesides of a cam wheel 86, maintained in a nonrotating position by asupport bracket 87 (FIG. 6). The feed wheel 84 is provided with aserrated pad feed shoe 90 (FIGS. 6 and 7) which is pivotally supportedat one end as at 91 and has an operating roller 92 supported thereon forengagement with the cam 86. A tension spring 93 maintains the roller 92in contact with the cam 86 as rotation is imparted to the feed wheels84, 85 by means of the drive chain 70. As the feed wheel 84 rotates, ina counterclockwise direction in FIG. 6, the feed shoe 90 is raised bythe cam wheel 86 as it approaches the stack of pads P to engage theforward end of the lowermost pad and remove it from the stack. The upperend of a guide plate 95 is supported on the lower end of the pad feedchute and is spaced from and extends downwardly by the feed wheel 84 toguide the pad P into a vertical position as it is moved around by thefeed shoe 90. As the pad P reaches a substantially vertical position,the roller 92 moves onto the low part of the cam 86 and moves out ofgripping engagement with the pad to release the same so that it willfall into the V-shaped opening provided at the interleaving station andbetween the leading tray of the approaching group and the trailing trayof the leaving group.

As illustrated in-FIG. 3, the lower end of the guide plate 95 supportsthe forward end of a tray support and guide, in the form of a leatherapron 96 which rests by gravity on the upper edges of the group ofleaving trays being moved downwardly along the second chute 30. Aresilient locking finger 97 is also supported at the lower end of theguide plate 95 and is adapted to engage the rear upper edge of thetrailing tray of the leaving group so that it is maintained in theposition shown in FIG. 3 after being moved to this position by theresilient fingers 52.

METHOD OF OPERATION To operate the interleaving apparatus, the operatorloads the first chute 22 with nested trays T and loads the upper padchute with absorbent pads P at opposite sides of the machine. If it isdesired to operate both sides of the machine at the same time, theelectric clutches 16, 16 (FIG. 8) are activated so that both main driveshafts 17, 17 rotate. The leading tray T of the approaching group ismaintained in an inclined and nested position, as shown in FIG. 3 by thenotched rocking shaft 48 and the upper release shaft 50. A single traymay be positioned in the chute 30 and inclined as'shown in FIG. 3 toprovide the trailing tray of the leaving group and to form a V-shapedopening between the separated upper ends of the trays approaching theinterleaving station and the trays leaving the interleaving station.

The cam wheels 84, 85 are rotated so that the shoe 90 removes thelowermost pad P and deposits it in the V-shaped opening at theinterleaving station and in a substantially vertical position. Theoperating arms 53 swing in a clockwise direction so that the fingers 52are moved behind the opposite side edges of the leading tray. The rockshaft 48 is reciprocated as the upper release shaft 50 is rotatedand'the' fingers 52 move the leading tray forwardly so that it becomesthe trailing tray of the leaving group. The trailing tray is held inthis position as the upper edge is engaged and held in position by thelocking finger 97.

This operation continues with a pad being deposited in the V-shapedopening just prior to each successive movement of a tray from the nestedposition with the approaching group to the nested position with theleaving group so that a pad P is interleaved between each of the nestedtrays T as they move down the second chute 30. The pressure plate 36continuously applies pressure on the nested trays of the approachinggroup so that the next tray is moved into position against the rockshaft 48 and the upper release shaft 50 each time the leading tray isremoved from the approaching group. The operator removes groups of thetrays from the lower end of the second chute 30 and stacks them in ahorizontal position so that each tray is provided with a pad P, asillustrated in FIG. 10, and the stack of trays is ready to have foodproducts packaged therein, such as chickens and the like, so that anyliquid from the food product will be absorbed by the pad P in the lowerportion of the tray T.

In accordance with the method of the present invention, a line ofnested-trays is moved along and past an interleaving station whereabsorbent pads are successively inserted between the trays as they aresuccessively moved out of nesting relationship. After the pads areinserted, the trays are successively moved back into nestedrelationship. The nested trays are moved along a substantiallyhorizontal path of travel with the trays approaching the interleavingstation moving along an upwardly inclined path and the trays leaving theinterleaving station moving along a downwardly inclined path to providea substantially V-shaped opening at the interleaving station with thelower ends of the leading tray and the leaving tray remaining in atleast partially nested condition. Absorbent pads are successivelydropped into the opening and their downward movement is limited by thenested lower ends of the trays at the interleaving station.

The apparatus of the present invention is adapted to operate at a highrate of speed and may accommodate a large number of trays and pads forinterleaving. If it is necessary to stop the interleaving operation atone side of the machine, the other side may continue to operate. Sincethe clutches 16, 16' may be operated to selectively drive the main driveshafts 17, 17', either side of the machine may continue to operate whilethe other side is stopped.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation.

That which is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for interleaving absorbent pads between adjacent trays,said apparatus comprising a. means for moving a line of nested traysalong a predetermined path of travel and past an interleaving station,

b. means for successively moving the leading tray out of nestingrelationship with the remaining trays at the interleaving station toform an opening therebetween,

c. means for successively inserting absorbent pads into the openingformed between the trays, and

(1. means operating in timed relationship to said means (b) forsuccessively returning the trays to nested relationship as they leavethe interleaving station and with the absorbent pads therebetween.

2. An apparatus for interleaving absorbent pads between adjacent trays,said apparatus comprising a. means for supporting and moving the traysalong in a substantially vertical position and past an interleavingstation, said support means being inclined upwardly to the interleavingstation and being inclined downwardly from the interleaving station sothat the group of trays approaching and the group of trays leaving theinterleaving station are inclined in opposite directions to provide asubstantially V- shaped opening at the interleaving station and betweenthe two groups of trays,

b. means for successively moving the leading tray of the approachinggroup to become the trailing tray of the leaving group,

c. means supporting a stack of horizontally positioned absorbent padsabove the interleaving station, and

d. means operating in timed relationship to said means (b) forsuccessively removing the lower pad of the stack and positioning thesame in a substantially vertical position in the V-shaped opening priorto the successive movement of each leading tray of the approaching groupto become the trailing tray of the leaving group so that an absorbentpad is interleaved between successive trays leaving the interleavingstation.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein each of 5 said means (a)through (d) is provided on each side of ing a single drive motorsupplying motion to each of said means at each side of said apparatus.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 including clutch means interposedbetween said single drive motor and said interleaving means at each sideof said apparatus, said clutch means each being independently operableso that the interleaving operation at one side of the apparatus may bestopped while the interleaving operation at the other side of theapparatus may continue.

5. An apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said means (a) comprises afirst tray guiding chute inclined upwardly to the interleaving station,and a second tray guiding chute spaced from said first chute andinclined downwardly from the interleaving station.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said means (b) comprises anotched rocking shaft positioned between said first and second trayguiding chutes and engaging the lower edges of successive trays formoving the same from the approaching group to the leaving group,rotatable release means positioned at the upper edge of the leading trayof the approaching group and being operable to maintain the leading trayin inclined position, said release means being rotated in timedrelationship to rocking movement of said rocking shaft to release theupper edge of the leading tray as the lower edge is moved by saidrocking shaft, resiliently supported fingers engageable with oppositesides of the leading tray and intermediate the upper and lower ends, andmeans for reciprocating said fingers in timed relationship to rotationof said release means and to movement of said rocking shaft, saidfingers being operable to successively move the leading tray of theapproaching group of trays across the interleaving station to become thetrailing tray of the leaving group.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said means forreciprocating said fingers includes an operating arm supported adjacenteach side of the interleaving station and supporting said fingers on theupper ends thereof, a rocking drive shaft supporting the lower ends ofsaid operating arms, a lever arm fixed at one end on said rockingdrive-shaft and having a slotted lower end, a drive pin in the slottedlower end of said lever arm, and a rotating wheel supporting said drivepin in off-center relationship to impart reciprocation to said lever armwith rotation of said wheel.

8. An apparatus according to claim 6 including locking means engageablewith the upper rear edge portion of the trailing tray of the leavinggroup for holding the upper portion in position when the leading tray ofthe approaching group is moved through the interleaving station tobecome the trailing tray of the leaving group.

9. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said means (c) includes anopen frame substantially vertically extending chute adapted to maintainabsorbent pads in substantially vertical alignment above theinterleaving station, anda support plate extending across the lower rearportion of said chute for supporting the lowermost pad of the stack andleaving the forward end free.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said means (d) comprises apair of spaced apart feed wheels supported for rotation beneath saidchute, a guide plate spaced from said feed wheels and fixed at its upperend on the lower portion of said vertically extending chute,

and pad gripping means supported on said feed wheels for frictionallyengaging and removing the lowermost pad from the stack and directing itvertically into the V-shaped opening between the two groups of trays atthe interleaving station.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said pad gripping meanscomprises a serrated feed shoe supported between said feed wheels a camwheel fixed between said feed wheels and being operable to raise saidfeed shoe beyond the periphery of said feed wheels as said feed shoepasses beneath said stack of absorbent pads for engaging and withdrawingthe lowermost absorbent pad from the stack, said cam wheel beingoperable to withdraw said feed shoe between said feed wheels as theabsorbent pad is moved to a substantially vertical position to releasethe same.

12. A method of interleaving absorbent pads between adjacent trayscomprising the steps of a. moving a line of nested trays along apredetermined path of travel and past an interleaving station,

b. successively moving the leading tray outof nesting relationship withthe remaining trays at the interleaving station to form an openingtherebetween,

c. successively inserting absorbent pads into the opening formed betweenthe trays, and

d. successively returning the trays to nested relationship as they leavethe interleaving station and with the abosrbent pads therebetween.

13. A method according to claim 12 including moving one side of theleading tray out of nesting relationship while maintaining the otherside of the leading tray in at least partially nested condition to forma substantially V-shaped opening therebetween.

14. A method according to claim 13 wherein the line of nested trays aremoved along a substantially horizontal path of travel, the upper side ofthe leading tray is moved out of nested condition and the lower side ofthe leading tray remains in nested condition with the next tray, and theabsorbent pad is dropped in a substantially vertical position into theopening so that the lower end of the absorbent pad engages the nestedlower portions of the adjacent trays to limit downward movement of theabsorbent pad.

15. A method of interleaving absorbent pads between adjacent trayscomprising the steps of a. moving a group of nested trays along anupwardly inclined path with the trays being perpendicular to theupwardly inclined path,

b. successively moving the upper end of the leading tray of the upwardlyinclined group of trays out of nested position with the next tray and toa position perpendicular to a downwardly inclined path to provide asubstantially V-shaped opening between the moved tray and the remainingtrays of the group moving along the upwardly inclined path and to form agroup of nested trays moving along the downwardly inclined path, and

c. positioning an absorbent pad in a substantially verticalposition inthe V-shaped opening following each successive movement of the leadingtray of the upwardly inclined group of trays to interleave a singleabsorbent pad between the nested trays moving along the downwardlyinclined path.

i k l

1. An apparatus for interleaving absorbent pads between adjacent trays,said apparatus comprising a. means for moving a line of nested traysalong a predetermined path of travel and past an interleaving station,b. means for successively moving the leading tray out of nestingrelationship with the remaining trays at the interleaving station toform an opening therebetween, c. means for successively insertingabsorbent pads into the opening formed between the trays, and d. meansoperating in timed relationship to said means (b) for successivelyreturning the trays to nested relationship as they leave theinterleaving station and with the absorbent pads therebetween.
 2. Anapparatus for interleaving absorbent pads between adjacent trays, saidapparatus comprising a. means for supporting and moving the trays alongin a substantially vertical position and past an interleaving station,said support means being inclined upwardly to the interleaving stationand being inclined downwardly from the interleaving station so that thegroup of trays approaching and the group of trays leaving theinterleaving station are inclined in opposite directions to provide asubstantially V-shaped opening at the interleaving station and betweenthe two groups of trays, b. means for successively moving the leadingtray of the approaching group to become the trailing tray of the leavinggroup, c. means supporting a stack of horizontally positioned absorbentpads above the interleaving station, and d. means operating in timedrelationship to said means (b) for successively removing the lower padof the stack and positioning the same in a substantially verticalposition in the V-shaped opening prior to the successive movement ofeach leading tray of the approaching group to become the trailing trayof the leaving group so that an absorbent pad is interleaved betweensuccessive trays leaving the interleaving station.
 3. Apparatusaccording to claim 2 wherein each of said means (a) through (d) isprovided on each side of said apparatus to simultaneously interleaveabsorbent pads between successive trays moving along in parallel rows oftrays at each side of said apparatus, and including a single drive motorsupplying motion to each of said means at each side of said apparatus.4. Apparatus according to claim 3 including clutch means interposedbetween said single drive motor and said interleaving means at each sideof said apparatus, said clutch means each being independently operableso that the interleaving operation at one side of the apparatus may bestopped while the interleaving operation at the other side of theapparatus may continue.
 5. An apparatus according to claim 2 whereinsaid means (a) comprises a first tray guiding chute inclined upwardly tothe interleaving station, and a second tray guiding chute spaced fromsaid first chute and inclined downwardly from the interleaving station.6. An apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said means (b) comprises anotched rocking shaft positioned between said first and second trayguiding chutes and engaging the lower edges of successive trays formoving the same from the approaching group to the leaving group,rotatable release means positioned at the upper edge of the leading trayof the approaching group and being operable to maintain the leading trayin inclined position, said release means being rotated in timedrelationship to rocking movement of said rocking shaft to release theupper edge of the leading tray as the lower edge is moved by saidrocking shaft, resiliently supported fingers engageable with oppositesides of the leading tray and intermediate the upper and lower ends, andmeans for reciprocating said fingers in timed relationship to rotationof said release means and to movement of said rocking shaft, saidfingers being operable to successively move the leading tray of theapproaching group of trays across the Interleaving station to become thetrailing tray of the leaving group.
 7. An apparatus according to claim 6wherein said means for reciprocating said fingers includes an operatingarm supported adjacent each side of the interleaving station andsupporting said fingers on the upper ends thereof, a rocking drive shaftsupporting the lower ends of said operating arms, a lever arm fixed atone end on said rocking drive shaft and having a slotted lower end, adrive pin in the slotted lower end of said lever arm, and a rotatingwheel supporting said drive pin in off-center relationship to impartreciprocation to said lever arm with rotation of said wheel.
 8. Anapparatus according to claim 6 including locking means engageable withthe upper rear edge portion of the trailing tray of the leaving groupfor holding the upper portion in position when the leading tray of theapproaching group is moved through the interleaving station to becomethe trailing tray of the leaving group.
 9. Apparatus according to claim2 wherein said means (c) includes an open frame substantially verticallyextending chute adapted to maintain absorbent pads in substantiallyvertical alignment above the interleaving station, and a support plateextending across the lower rear portion of said chute for supporting thelowermost pad of the stack and leaving the forward end free. 10.Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said means (d) comprises a pairof spaced apart feed wheels supported for rotation beneath said chute, aguide plate spaced from said feed wheels and fixed at its upper end onthe lower portion of said vertically extending chute, and pad grippingmeans supported on said feed wheels for frictionally engaging andremoving the lowermost pad from the stack and directing it verticallyinto the V-shaped opening between the two groups of trays at theinterleaving station.
 11. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein saidpad gripping means comprises a serrated feed shoe supported between saidfeed wheels a cam wheel fixed between said feed wheels and beingoperable to raise said feed shoe beyond the periphery of said feedwheels as said feed shoe passes beneath said stack of absorbent pads forengaging and withdrawing the lowermost absorbent pad from the stack,said cam wheel being operable to withdraw said feed shoe between saidfeed wheels as the absorbent pad is moved to a substantially verticalposition to release the same.
 12. A method of interleaving absorbentpads between adjacent trays comprising the steps of a. moving a line ofnested trays along a predetermined path of travel and past aninterleaving station, b. successively moving the leading tray out ofnesting relationship with the remaining trays at the interleavingstation to form an opening therebetween, c. successively insertingabsorbent pads into the opening formed between the trays, and d.successively returning the trays to nested relationship as they leavethe interleaving station and with the abosrbent pads therebetween.
 13. Amethod according to claim 12 including moving one side of the leadingtray out of nesting relationship while maintaining the other side of theleading tray in at least partially nested condition to form asubstantially V-shaped opening therebetween.
 14. A method according toclaim 13 wherein the line of nested trays are moved along asubstantially horizontal path of travel, the upper side of the leadingtray is moved out of nested condition and the lower side of the leadingtray remains in nested condition with the next tray, and the absorbentpad is dropped in a substantially vertical position into the opening sothat the lower end of the absorbent pad engages the nested lowerportions of the adjacent trays to limit downward movement of theabsorbent pad.
 15. A method of interleaving absorbent pads betweenadjacent trays comprising the steps of a. moving a group of nested traysalong an upwardly inclined path with the trays being pErpendicular tothe upwardly inclined path, b. successively moving the upper end of theleading tray of the upwardly inclined group of trays out of nestedposition with the next tray and to a position perpendicular to adownwardly inclined path to provide a substantially V-shaped openingbetween the moved tray and the remaining trays of the group moving alongthe upwardly inclined path and to form a group of nested trays movingalong the downwardly inclined path, and c. positioning an absorbent padin a substantially vertical position in the V-shaped opening followingeach successive movement of the leading tray of the upwardly inclinedgroup of trays to interleave a single absorbent pad between the nestedtrays moving along the downwardly inclined path.